JOY For Our Journey~~Puddleduckin It

Hi Sweet Friends!!

Many of you are probably familiar with this

adorable and precocious little duck.

~~~

She is one of Beatrix Potter's creations. Oh

yes, she can find some mischief, but that is

not how I felt I related to her yesterday.

~~~

You see, I have been working on organizing

these piles of stuff that had been moved

around from other places I organized into

my bedroom. There was all manner of stuff like

memorabilia, craft supplies, paperwork,

and little annoying odds and ends that I have

no idea where to put!!

~~~

Well, it never seems to fail that as I sift through,

I stumble onto something that

causes me to reflect on things in the past.

Such was the case yesterday.

~~~

I found a photo taken at my sister's house

with my Dad and Mom, just a week before

my Mom drew in her last breath. I felt like I

had been punched in the stomach, and let

out a big sigh.

~~~

I've seen the picture often since that day,

and you would think that 5 years later I

might just be able to smile and put it

down. Quite the contrary. I recalled the

day that photo was snapped in detail.

~~~

Alzheimer's had taken so much away from

my Mom, but as I was kneeling next to her,

my arm on the arm of the chair, she spied

this pretty little turquoise bracelet I had on

that was just loaded with dangly beads.

~~~

She had a passion for jewelry, and especially

jewelry that had "motion" to it. As best as she

could, she reached over with her hand, moved

the beads with her finger, mumbled words
I couldn't understand,

and her face just beamed with JOY!

~~~

What an incredible delight it was that day

to see her half-mouthed smile and her face

light up, but as I was looking at her in this

photo yesterday, all I could do was cry and cry

some more. Oh how I love and miss my

Mom.

~~~

I literally felt like I was in a puddle of tears. I

even had that thought and the next thought

of Jemima Puddleduck. I was smack in the

middle of a puddle of tears, just watching each one

splash and ripple in the water. I just wanted

to stay in the puddle and feel sad.

~~~

Then I began feeling like I couldn't stop
and was trying to

get a grip, you know?

~~~

That's when I remembered all the joy I saw

on my Mom's face that day. She was still

in there!! The Alzheimer's hadn't taken

all of her!!! My tears began to slow, and

I just savored the JOY! I mean I really

savored it. I held it close to me like a mother

holds her baby, and it warmed me from the

inside out.

~~~

I thank God for His wonderful blessing that

day; for giving me something I could take JOY

in even years after the loss of my Mom, and at

a time of such deep pain.

~~~

My friends, what a tender, loving, compassionate

God! He knows our needs so perfectly.

And He delights in meeting them, and showing

us how deeply He loves us!!

~~~

How Great A Joy!!

~~~

Praying today that the joy of the Lord will

be your strength, your reason to smile

and to praise His Holy Name!

Love you!

Becky